This invention relates to ovenware, and particularly to cooking pans which are to be used in circumstances where foodstuffs are likely to adhere to one or more surfaces thereon. The invention has an immediately apparent application in pans which are to be heated on a stove, but is also suitable for ovenware.
A continuing problem with cooking utensils of all kinds is that foodstuff will tend to adhere to heated surfaces. This is a particular problem in frying pans and other vessels which are used on a stove, but one which also developes on pans used in oven cooking. In recent years, various attempts have been made to produce surfaces for such pans to which foodstuff will not adhere or will not readily adhere in the cooking process, and the most effective of these has been the provision of "non-stick" surfaces. The most commonly used material for such "non-stick" surface is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
Cooking utensils, particularly for toasting and grilling, have also been designed with ribbed or uneven surfaces to maintain a piece of food spaced from the body of the utensil. Examples of such utensils are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,875,683 (Burns); and British Pat. Nos. 372,025 (Bells), 422,378 (Moneta) and 742,484 (Knight). However, support for food in these utensils is often unsatisfactory, and they render the use of cooking implements on the surface rather difficult.
While the provision of "non-stick" surfaces is effective, such surfaces have a limited life. In normal use, it is almost inevitable that they will become scratched, and over a period of time, the surface will be broken, and partially or totally removed.